Red Bay
Persea borbonia
Summary 2
Persea borbonia is a species of plant in the Lauraceae family, with several common names including redbay, tisswood, scrubbay, shorebay, and swampbay.
Description 3
Persea borbonia can be present as either a small tree or a large shrub. It has evergreen leaves that are about 3 to 6 inches long with a lance shape. The leaves are arranged alternately and emit a spicy smell when crushed. The leaves vary in color from bright green to dark green.
These trees are capable of producing fruit that is a small, blue or black drupe.
Redbay is a perennial, with a non-herbaceous stem that is lignified.
Distribution 3
Persea borbonia grows in the coastal margins of the southeastern United States. It is endemic to the lowlands of Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and eastern North Carolina. Small, isolated populations can be found in coastal Virginia, and near the Maryland and Delaware state line. It also grows in the Bahamas and is cultivated in Hawaii. It usually grows on the borders of swamp land.
Due to an invasion of redbay ambrosia beetle in the Southern United States the tree is slowly dying out. The beetle was discovered in 2002 near Savannah, Georgia and it carries a laurel wilt fungal disease that is responsible for killing redbays. However, foresters agree the species will likely not go extinct in the southeastern U.S. since it appears to rejuvenate to some degree on its own.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Carlos G Velazco-Macias, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Carlos G Velazco-Macias
- Adapted by Jenn Mercer from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persea_borbonia
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persea_borbonia
More Info
- iNat taxon page
- Biodiversity Heritage Library
- BOLD Systems BIN search
- eFloras.org
- Flora of North America (beta)
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
- HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
- IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
- NatureServe Explorer 2.0
- SEINet Symbiota portals
- Tropicos
- USDA PLANTS database
- World Flora Online
iNat Map
| Form | shrub, tree |
|---|---|
| Fruit type | Drupe |
| Fruit color | Black, Blue |
| Fruit season | Fall, Summer |
| Leaf arrangement | Alternate |
| Simple/compound | Simple |
| Evergreen or deciduous | Evergreen |
| Leaf shape | Oblong |
| Leaf shape | Lanceolate |
| Leaf margin | Entire |
| Leaf texture | Paler below |
| Bark color | Brown, Red |
| Bark texture | Furrowed, Scaly |
| Flower color | green, yellow |
| Bloom time | Spring, Summer |
